Keith Vaz says the number of sham marriages in Britain is 'spiralling out of
control'

More than 10 per cent of immigrants coming to live in the UK may be as a result of sham marriages, a senior MP has warned.

The number of sham marriages taking place is “spiralling out of control” and could be leading to as many as 40,000 extra immigrants entering the country illegally, according to Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Commons home affairs select committee.

A report by the committee has said that the number of bogus marriages is increasing at an “alarming rate” and is making a “mockery” of the country’s immigration system. According to Government estimates, as many as 10,000 sham marriages could be taking place every year.

However, each marriage can give residence rights to a person’s extended family, meaning the number of people illegally entering the UK could be far higher, Mr Vaz said.

He told The Telegraph that each sham marriage could result in as many as four dependents, including children, gaining the legal right to live in the UK.

It could mean that the number of people entering Britain every year as a result of sham marriages is potentially as high as 40,000, Mr Vaz said.

Net migration – the number of people coming into the country minus those leaving – increased to 212,000 last year, official figures have shown. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that 532,000 people migrated to Britain in the year ending last September.

A total of 320,000 emigrants left Britain last year, 23,000 fewer than the previous year and the lowest level since 2008. The Government has set a target of getting net migration down to “the tens of thousands” by next year. Experts have warned that it is increasingly likely that ministers will fail to meet that pledge.

Some 2,135 marriages were reported as suspicious by registrars last year, up from 934 in 2010. The law obliges registrars to inform the Home Office if they have “reasonable grounds to suspect that a marriage or civil partnership is a sham being entered into for immigration purposes”.

There are concerns that growing numbers of EU nationals with a right to reside in Britain are being used to secure passports for people outside the continent. More than a third of EU nationals, 36 per cent, applying to stay in this country were born outside the EU and had gained European nationality before arriving in Britain.

Mr Vaz said: “There is an industry of deceit which uses sham marriages to circumvent immigration control. Marriage is a precious institution and should not be hijacked to make a mockery of the law or our immigration system. The estimated 10,000 sham marriages appears to be increasing at an alarming rate. One sham marriage can provide UK residence rights to an entire extended family who would otherwise have no right to be here.”

He added: “I don’t believe the Government is going to meet this net migration target. They can’t meet their target because there are so many areas, such as sham marriages, where they’ve only got estimates. We’re talking about tens of thousands more that they simply don’t know about. [40,000] is a potential figure … for the knock-on effects of people being brought in.”

The report calls for extra training for marriage registrars. It states: “Registrars need to be aware that sham marriages appear to be a growing problem and that they have a duty to report those that they suspect are sham marriages.”